Beast Hunters: Setup

Based on the Interest thread, I gather that we have four Hunters for the game: Dave, Daniel, Shreyas, and Rich.

I'm going to assume you guys have access to the game. If not, you can find the character creation section and the conflict resolution rules on our web site. I'll explain the rest as we go along.

After thinking about it, I don't want to put restrictions on the game after all: if you all want to be newly initiated Beast Hunters, we'll do that. I am going to develop some more multiplayer beasts for the upcoming (free) supplement anyway.

What would you guys like? Should there be a tribe, or should we go with Daniel's idea of you being the last few? The answer will obviously matter for the kinds of interactions your characters are going to have.

We also need to decide whether men are considered near-equals (who are just not fit to be leaders) in your tribe, inferior but accepted, or outright mistreated. If the tribe is large, there might be groups within the tribe that differ in this regard.

Almost all of the tribes are nomadic. They are named after their (exclusively female) leaders. If the leader is Rhora, the tribe will be the Rhora-nadan. If another female steps up and assumes leadership, the nadan's identity shifts accordingly. If you don't have any females left in your tribe, you are doomed to die out (since all tribes are matrilineal). Some tribes have feuds, and all of them vie for glory, but they are smart enough not to eradicate each other, unless something really horrible happens.

So... thoughts, ideas?

Comments

I liked the idea of being the last few members of a tribe. I think it would possibly be interesting to have the tribe be matriarchal with the only surviving female being in charge. Possibly younger than all of the characters. That kind of shoe-horns our character choices though.

I'm not super-committed to the 'last surviving members' thing -- I was mostly thinking that it would be good to have a little something extra in common between the characters, since it's a multiplayer game rather than the usual one on one. Then again that could easily be achieved with regular characters, just by tying some of our traits together and the like. I was also thinking that such a 'scenario' would make for a variety of conflicts -- particularly the sort where many PCs could be acting in very different ways to achieve a goal (tribal survival and the like can be fairly complicated, as opposed to hunting a beast.)

Other possibilities could be (unless of course I am totally misremembering Christian & Lisa's setting, in which case no doubt I will be appropriately chastised) a nadan that is near the border of that magical-wasteland-place (sorry, no book nearby.) Or maybe a tribe that is actually traditionally at odds with the beast hunters, for some reason. Or members of a cult that worship the magical beasts, rather than attempts to destroy them. Or... well, lots of options. I'm confident that the chargen system will produce awesome regardless of where we start.

Oh, if we were going to go with the one-surviving-female (which I think is a cool idea), one approach (to avoid the character pigeonholing, maybe? a bit?) might be to keep the female as an NPC and have all the characters take her as a Resource (whether social or mental or physical), since her survival is central to the tribe. This way the character would be central but nobody would necessarily have to play her. It would still limit people to male PCs, though, which could be kind of lame.

Soooo, I think we're going with the last survivors of the tribe thing? We haven't head from Shreyas yet but it seems like everyone else is at least a little into it. As far as the gender makeup of the PCs, I'm pretty sure that any configuration we happen to come up with will be interesting.

I still don't have internet access from home, but that should be fixed over the next few days.

I had decided to step back a bit and not be the driving force for setting up the game (and then I got sick), because I didn't want to be the one steering the whole effort, but it seems that that approach backfired.

I can still run the game, but I wouldn't be able to nudge people along very much. If you all still want to do that, great If not, we'll try again another time.

Hmm, I had stopped reading these forums due to an excess of non-starting and not really wanting to be the one to push games along (a familiar feeling from online play, somehow.) But since I just unpacked my copy of Beast Hunters I will gladly make a character, and maybe things will go from there. If not, I will have made a Beast Hunters character, which is always an awesome thing to do.

I'm going with the idea that we are not all necessarily playing Beast Hunters, though I'd be happy to adapt if we'd rather do that (it is more straightforward.)

Name: Qwela

Qwela is a lorekeeper and storyteller of her tribe. From a young age she was taught the songs and dances that make up the history of her people, which is the true history of the world.

Step 1: Your Parents

Qwela's mother was a warrior of the village, known for her fierceness and recklessness. Qwela's father, a weaver, was always a little afraid of his wife -- awed, even. When Qwela was still young, her mother was crippled in battle, and could no longer fight -- reduced to lesser duties, she became bitter and took it out on her husband and child. Eventually the shame and frustration became too much, and she killed herself.

After her mother's death, Qwela's path was uncertain. Though her mother had always planned on her becoming a warrior, her father tried to turn her away, terrified at the thought of losing his only child. Qwela was drawn to the dancers and the storytellers of the tribe -- in their songs she found a way to honour her mother's memory, without taking up her spear. She would learn the song of the world, and sing in it her mother's life, so that none would forget her sacrifice.

When I sing, the stars stoop to listen SOWhen I dance, the earth holds its breath MO

The stories of my people SOThe Song of the World MO

Physical Initiative +1, Social +Light

Step 3: Your Enemies

(Tired of the mini-background, and besides I don't want to step on any toes since I'm not sure if we're going for the dead-tribe or what.)

There is no mercy left in me POThe dead will not let me rest SDDesperation SO

My mother's eyes like lightning SO +3I've had worse MD +1A weaver's careful hands PD +1When I sing, the stars stoop to listen SO +2When I dance, the earth holds its breath MO +3There is no mercy left in me PO +2The dead will not let me rest SD +2Desperation SO +2I know the names of many things MD +1I know how to listen, and when MO +1

Resources:

Beautiful ceremonial garb SD +1The memory of my mother laughing MD +1The stories of my people SO +2The Song of the World MO +3The dagger that killed my father PO +1Our wise-woman's head MD +2

So Dave, do you think not finding the time to make a character is an indicator that you might not be able to post daily on the game? I'd love to have you, as you know, but it seems like we should get started at some point, and at least we've got two characters ready

TraitsMy father taught me how to wait silently for prey PO +1"My mother taught me to question everything" SD +2I watched my parents die MD +2Secrets are the best currency SO +3I learned how to roll with a blow PD +1Staying hidden keeps you alive PD +3Nothing they say can hurt me SD +1My senses can not be fooled MO +1I can read people's thoughts on their faces SO +2No one thinks I'm a threat PO +2

I've been thinking about this over the weekend. We've got some very socially-oriented characters here, but you three will be the last of your tribe. So there won't be any internal politics to be involved in. In order to prepare this appropriately, what would you guys like to be doing with your characters? As in, are you looking to walk the earth settling disputes within and among tribes? Are you going to fight against your enemies to win glory for your dying tribe?

I see my character trying to insert himself into the power structures of existing nadans. He harbors resentment towards the people who destroyed the tribe, but he doesn't see himself as the one to take the fight to them.

I think my character wants to rebuild the tribe somehow, but more importantly make sure that their story is not forgotten or corrupted. This could involve travelling from nadan to nadan, telling the story, or maybe some more mystical quest. I'm imagining that the PCs might end up at the mercy/hospitality of another nadan, which would allow for plenty of politics -- but there could also be more basic survival scenarios, or maybe people trying to finish what our enemies started and wipe us out for good.

Another option that occured to me was that we could add some NPC tribe members, so it's more like a dozen total survivors. This could be modeled fairly easily by all of us swapping out one or two resources for a resource that represents some group of survivors that the character somehow represents or feels responsible for. So I could take 'the village children SO +2' or something, and someone else could have 'the last of the (tribename) warriors PO +1,' etc. This would both modify the overall situation (it's not just three people, it's a somewhat greater social remnant) and maybe make the survival of the tribe more interesting mechanically.

Alright--the nadans are already nomadic, so it seems like you guys are going to follow that and have more necessary interaction with the bigger ones around, for trading resources and such. And good singers/storytellers are always welcome among the nadans We can figure out if you want a couple of NPCs that we can create together, or if it's just you three.

I agree with the quest of "Let us not be forgotten". Part of that is spreading our stories and histories to the other Nadan's and part of that is going after the big beasts to create new legends. My guy wants to be one to take out our enemy before we go and he do it himself if he could. As it is, he'll have to convince the other nadans to help them. I am OK either way with being the last three or part of a larger remnant.

Sorry for getting everyone's hopes up. I might be able to pull this off in the new year, but with the new job starting, there's no way I can fit this in--there is not going to be any non-work-related internet access.